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Welcome to Member Voices, an NJEA Podcast.\\xa0 In this episode, we welcome Amy Anderson.

Amy T. Andersen is a high school American Sign Language (ASL) teacher at Ocean City High School in Cape May County, has been named the 2018 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year.

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• Sean M. Spiller | @SpillerForNJEA
• Jeff Bradbury | @JeffBradbury

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About Our Guest: Amy Anderson

Amy T. Andersen, a high school American Sign Language (ASL) teacher at Ocean City High School in Cape May County, has been named the 2018 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year.

Andersen, who was named the 2017-18 Cape May County Teacher of the Year in the spring, grew up in Cape May County. She earned a bachelor\\u2019s degree in flute performance from Indiana University and a mas- ter\\u2019s degree in deaf education from McDaniel College. Andersen also achieved national board certification in Exceptional Needs Specialist: Deaf/Hard of Hearing.

After nine years in Boston, Massachusetts as a teacher of the deaf, she returned to New Jersey in 2004 to raise a family. It was then, with 42 students, that Andersen began the ASL program at Ocean City High School. Community oriented activities, such as ASL socials at local coffee shops and evening performances that raise funds for scholarships immerse students in deaf culture helping them to build confidence. In the past three years alone, more than 85 percent of her students have achieved the NJ Seal of Biliteracy. Her popular and respected program has inspired a number of students to pursue ASL-related careers, including interpreting for Michelle Obama and Madonna.

Ocean City\\u2019s ASL program is unique, especially in the way Andersen connects her students to the deaf community nationwide. Ocean City has become a strong community that is now accessible to hearing and deaf visitors because of Andersen\\u2019s students.

Andersen is a nationally recognized educator who began her career teaching deaf children to fall in love with reading. She now teaches hearing children to fall in love with ASL. Among her many recognitions, Andersen was named the 2014 ASL Teacher of the Year and was honored by the New Jersey Association for the Deaf and Atlantic County Society for the Deaf. In 2015, \\u201cClassroom Close-Up NJ\\u201d highlighted her program after her students\\u2019 ASL anti-bullying video went viral. As Ocean City\\u2019s Teacher of the Year, Andersen was featured in the NJ School Board Association\\u2019s School Leader and was recently honored by the National Liberty Museum with the Teacher as Hero: Exceptional Teacher Award.

Andersen has made a difference in the lives of her students, and she serves as a model for teachers throughout the country. She ignites her students\\u2019 passion for learning, gives them a voice and shows them their voice is valuable. Andersen\\u2019s students go out into the world as lifelong learners making bridges between cultures, embracing differences in those around them, and changing lives as they go.\\xa0

Show Hosts

Sean Spiller

Sean Spiller, a high school science teacher in the Wayne public schools, is vice president of the New Jersey Education Association. Spiller was elected as NJEA vice president beginning Sept. 1, 2017.

At NJEA, Spiller has served as chair of the Congressional Contact Committee, as a member of the Urban Education Committee and as an ethnic minority-at large representative to the Delegate Assembly. He was also a member of the National Council of Urban Education Associations (NCUEA).

Jeffrey Bradbury

Jeffrey Bradbury, author of Kidblog: An Introduction to Blogging With Your Students, is the creator of TeacherCast.net, TeacherCast University, and Educational Podcasting Today, is an ASCD Emerging Leader, Google Certified Teacher, Google Education Trainer, PBS Learning Media Digital Innovator, speaker, writer, broadcaster, consultant and educational media specialist. He is currently the Coordinator for Technology Integration for the Westwood Regional School District in New Jersey.\\xa0

In 2012, Jeff was recognized as one of Top 50 educators using social media at the first-ever Bammy Awards and has been nominated three times in the category of Innovator of the Year. Jeff has Keynoted for the Pearson Authentic Learning Conference, EdTechNJ and most recently at Columbia University\\u2019s Teacher College and Podcast Mid-Atlantic.